Ethiopia's Lifeline Gets an Upgrade: What the Dangote Pipeline Really Means

Ethiopia has spent decades solving the same problem in different ways. Since Eritrea's independence in 1993 cut off its access to the sea, the country has been landlocked, and nearly everything it imports, including the fuel that keeps its economy running, passes through Djibouti by road. That dependence just got a serious upgrade. On September 24, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stood alongside Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh and Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote to announce a 660 million dollar pipeline that will carry refined petroleum products the 120 kilometres from Damerjog port to Dewele in eastern Ethiopia.